Boulder Breaks & Baby Naps:Freelancing, Motherhood & Making It Work

This one felt a little different for me.

Not every conversation is going to fully mirror your own experience—and honestly, that’s kind of the point. This one reminded me that there isn’t one way to build something, and there definitely isn’t one version of what “making it work” looks like.

🎧 Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts.

Not One Path, Not One Way

Lauren’s career isn’t one clean title or role. She’s a writer, marketer, climber, mother, wife and so much more. And while that might not look traditional (or even sustainable on paper), it works for her.

We talk a lot about building something or finding your path, but the reality is most of the time it doesn’t come together in a straight line. It’s layered, it’s messy, and it’s constantly shifting.

Starting Later Doesn’t Mean You’re Behind

Getting into the outdoor industry—or honestly anything—as an adult can mess with your head a little. It’s easy to compare yourself to people who grew up doing the thing or have way more experience.

But that doesn’t mean you don’t belong.

There’s space for different perspectives, different entry points, and different kinds of stories—and not all of them need to be extreme or expert-level to matter.

What Freelancing Actually Looks Like

It’s a lot of piecing together different streams of work to create one career…

Freelancing sounds great in theory: flexibility, freedom, doing your own thing—but the reality is a lot less clean.

• It’s multiple income streams.

• It’s inconsistent work.

• It’s figuring it out as you go.

Lauren talks about everything from working in gyms to writing to managing social media, and how all of those pieces come together to create a career. Not perfect. Not linear.

Balancing Work, Life, and Everything Else

“It’s a lot of squeezing work in wherever you can.”

Adding motherhood into the mix changes everything.

We got into what it actually looks like to keep working while raising a kid—finding time where you can, adjusting constantly, and letting go of the idea that there’s a perfect system.

It’s not about balance in the aesthetic, Instagram way.

It’s about doing what works in the season you’re in.

Takeaways

• There isn’t one “right” way to build a career

• You don’t have to follow a linear path to make something work

• Freelancing is flexible—but it’s also unpredictable

• Different seasons of life require different approaches

• Not every conversation needs to feel identical to be valuable

Connect with Lauren

Website: www.laurenloria.com
Instagram: @laurenloriacreative

Listen + Follow Tarin It Up

🎧 Subscribe: https://tarinitup.myflodesk.com/tarinitup
📲 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarin.it.up.podcast/